Digital interface and related event manager for integrated circuits

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for receiving at a transceiver from a baseband processor digital control information that includes both event and schedule information, storing the digital control information in a storage of the transceiver, and operating the transceiver according to the event and schedule information.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 60/674,784 filed on Apr. 26, 2005 in the name of Brain D. Green andSrihari Adireddy entitled DIGITAL INTERFACE AND RELATED EVENT MANAGERFOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to high frequency communications and, moreparticularly, to wireless communication systems such as cellulartelephones.

BACKGROUND

A wireless device such as a cellular telephone typically includesvarious components that communicate status, control and data informationto each other. For example, a cellular telephone typically includes atransceiver that is adapted to transmit and receive at radio frequencies(RF). Cellular telephones further include a baseband processor thatoperates at baseband frequencies. Typically, information used to controlthe transceiver is provided from the baseband processor via analogsignals on multiple pins, such as general purpose input/output (GPIO)pins. Additionally, baseband processors typically transmit radio data(e.g., voice information) to the transceiver via analog signals. Becausethere is a significant amount of information that is needed to betransferred, numerous such pins are needed, raising complexity, cost andconsuming additional chip real estate.

For various reasons, digital interface communication protocols have beendiscussed in the communications industry, particularly with respect tocellular phones. One such effort has resulted in the DigRF Baseband/RFDigital Interface Specification currently available at the following URLon the Internet at the following URL—http://www.ttpcom.com/digrf. Thisspecification defines certain logical, electrical and timingcharacteristics for a digital interface between an RF integrated circuit(RFIC), such as a transceiver, and a baseband processor. Part of thisspecification discusses a strobe signal that is sent by the basebandprocessor to the RFIC to precisely time events that will occur withinthe RFIC during transmit and/or receive sessions. Because the amount ofevent information being fed from the baseband processor to the RFIC canbe considerable, the time required to send the event information to theRFIC can be large enough to interfere with the performance of the RFIC.The DigRF specification does not provide an efficient solution to thisproblem.

In addition to the amount of information sent, the fact that data andcontrol information may now occur digitally raises concerns.Specifically, transmission of digital signals between a basebandprocessor and transceiver during the transceiver's transmit and receivesessions can cause undesired interference or other ill effects.Accordingly, a need exists to effectively use the availability ofdigital communication while avoiding such adverse effects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a digital interface and event manager forintegrated circuits. More particularly, the present invention providesan event control protocol for efficiently handling strobed events intransceiver integrated circuits that digitally communicate transmit andreceive signals to baseband processor integrated circuits.

In one aspect, the present invention includes a method for receivingdigital control information that includes both event and scheduleinformation at a transceiver from a baseband processor, storing thedigital control information in a storage of the transceiver, andoperating the transceiver according to the event and scheduleinformation. The event information may be event codes to identify anoperation to be performed in the transceiver and the scheduleinformation may be schedule codes indicating when the events are to beperformed.

Using the control information received, the transceiver may perform, forexample, a first operation according to a first event code at a timeaccording to a first schedule code (e.g., corresponding to receipt of afirst strobe signal in the transceiver) and a second operation accordingto a second event code at a time according to a second schedule code,where the second schedule code corresponds to a predetermined time afterreceipt of the first strobe signal.

Another aspect of the present invention resides in a transceiver thatincludes a digital control interface to communicate digital controlinformation between a baseband processor and the transceiver, and anevent storage coupled to the digital control interface to store receiveddigital control information. The storage may include multiple registerseach to store an event code and a corresponding schedule code. Thetransceiver may further include a digital data interface to communicatedigital symbol information, digital sample information, and a strobesignal between the baseband processor and the transceiver.

In yet another aspect, a method includes providing digital controlinformation from a baseband processor to a transceiver during a periodof radio frequency inactivity in the transceiver, and sending strobesignals from the baseband processor to the transceiver, where each ofthe strobe signals is to initiate one or more actions in the transceiverbased upon the digital control information. The digital controlinformation may be transmitted via telegrams that include event codesand schedule codes.

Some embodiments may be in the form of a system, such as a wirelesssystem, that includes a processor and a transceiver, in which thetransceiver has a digital interface to communicate digital controlinformation between the processor and transceiver and a control storageto store the digital control information received from the processor.The transceiver further may include a lookup table to store transmissionpatterns, where the lookup table is addressable by an event code storedin the control storage at a time according a corresponding schedulecode. The system may further include a power amplifier coupled to thetransceiver and an antenna coupled to the power amplifier to transmitand receive information. Embodiments of the present invention may beimplemented in appropriate hardware, firmware, and software. To thatend, one embodiment may be implemented in a system for wirelesstransmission. Still other embodiments may include a system including anintegrated circuit such as a transceiver along with additionalcomponents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It is noted that the appended drawings illustrate only exemplaryembodiments of the invention and are, therefore, not to be consideredlimiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equallyeffective embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an example multi-slot receive timing diagram in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an example multi-slot transmit timing diagram in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a transceiver in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a digital interface and event managerthat can be used for communications between integrated circuits. Moreparticularly, the present invention provides an event control protocolfor efficiently handling strobed events in transceiver integratedcircuits that digitally communicate transmit and receive signals withbaseband processor integrated circuits.

In various embodiments, digital communication between a basebandprocessor and transceiver may be efficiently handled using variousschemes. First, the amount of control information sent to a transceivermay be minimized in various ways. For example, the control informationmay be encoded to reduce its size. Furthermore, in some embodiments oneor more tables may be provided in the transceiver that include specifiedcontrol information. Accordingly, to enable use of this controlinformation, a minimal amount of communication between basebandprocessor and transceiver is used. While the amount of controlinformation to be sent to a transceiver may be concise, a sufficientamount of control information to maintain desired functional ability andflexibility may be sent. In some embodiments, a total time consumed insending control information may be reduced such that desired controlinformation is able to be sent while avoiding interference. Stillfurther, control information may be communicated in carefully selectedtime periods relative to transmit and receive sessions, to avoidundesired interference.

Based upon this control information, a transceiver may be ultimatelyresponsible for its own scheduling of activities. That is, instead ofsimply receiving commands from a baseband processor and undertakingactions in response to the commands, a transceiver in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention schedules and performs events underits own control, based upon the received control information. Thus thetransceiver is the ultimate authority for implementing its own schedule.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for an embodiment 150 according to the presentinvention. A transceiver integrated circuit 102 communicates with abaseband processor integrated circuit 104 through various input/outputpins. While shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1 as being separateintegrated circuits, it is to be understood that in some embodiments asingle integrated circuit may house both baseband processing functionsand transceiver functions. Furthermore, additional functionality may beintegrated into one or more integrated circuits in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the digital interface 108 on the transceiver 102 communicateswith the digital interface 112 on the baseband processor 104 using atransmit/receive (TX/RX) signal line 120, an ENABLE signal line 122, anda STROBE signal line 124. The TX/RX signal line 120 is used to send andreceive digital data representing data being sent and received by acommunication device within which the transceiver 102 and the basebandprocessor 104 are operating, such as a cellular phone. The ENABLE signalline 122 is used to send and receive transmit/receive data enablesignals between the transceiver 102 and the baseband processor 104. Andthe STROBE signal line 124, as discussed above, is used by the basebandprocessor 104 to precisely time events that will occur within thetransceiver 102 during transmit and/or receive sessions.

The control interface 110 on the transceiver 102 communicates with thecontrol interface 114 on the baseband processor 104 using a DATA signalline 126, an ENABLE signal line 128, and a clock (CLK) signal line 130.The DATA signal line 126 is used to communicate control data between thetransceiver 102 and the baseband processor 104. The ENABLE signal line128 is used to send control data enable signals between the basebandprocessor 104 and the transceiver 102. The CLK signal is used by thebaseband processor 104 to send a control clock signal to the transceiver102. In some embodiments, a single interface between baseband processor104 and transceiver 102 may be used for communication of all of theabove signals.

With respect to the embodiment depicted, it is also noted that thattransceiver 102 is the system clock master. As such, the system clock(SYS CLK) block 106 on the transceiver provides a system clock signalthrough signal line 132 to the system clock (SYS CLK) block 116 on thebaseband processor 104.

According to the present invention, the transceiver 102 includes anevent register 100 that is loaded with event data provided at least inpart from control data transfers from the baseband processor 104 to thetransceiver 102. The event register 100 stores a plurality of events asrepresented by elements 118A, 118B . . . 118C, and each event includesan event code (EC) and a schedule code (SC). Event 118A, therefore,includes event code EC1 and schedule code SC1. Event 118B, therefore,includes event code EC2 and schedule code SC2, and so on, until the lastevent is reached, and this event 118C includes event code ECN andschedule code SCN.

The event code (EC) can be represented by a multiple bit value thatidentifies an action to be taken by the transceiver 102. The schedulecode (SC) can be represented by a multiple bit value that identifies atime at which the action will be taken. As set forth below in someembodiments, this time can be relative to the preceding event, tied to astrobe event, or set to occur simultaneously with the preceding event.

As indicated above, the STROBE signal line 124 is utilized to controltiming of the events. In the DigRF protocol discussed above, aquarter-bit timing convention is used. As such, a strobe event isdefined such that the strobe signal stays high for exactly one-fourthquarter-bit, and the time between strobe events is always an integernumber of quarter-bits. It is noted that a quarter-bit refers to 4 timesthe data symbol rate. Assuming a 26 MHz clock, the data symbol rate canbe configured to be 26 MHz/(24*4). A quarter-bit then would be 26MHz/24. It is also noted that the DigRF protocol does not specify thedetails of how the transceiver 102 interprets the strobe event, so bothedges of the strobe signal could be utilized for timing if desired.

A NULL event action code can be provided to provide additionalflexibility in event configuration. This NULL event, for example, can beused to extend the length between any two active events by includingevents with the NULL event code and the largest schedule code. In theembodiment set forth in the Tables below this would take the form of“0000” for the event code (NULL event) and “1110” for the schedule code(+14 quarter-bits after the preceding event).

By providing an event code and a schedule code that make up an event,complex event scheduling can be accomplished while still allowing forefficient communication of event information from the baseband processor104 to the transceiver 102.

Still referring to FIG. 1, additional storage may be present to storespecific control information. For example, one or more configurationregisters may be present. These configuration registers may be used tostore configuration information used in setting up transceiver 102 fortransmit and receive sessions. Thus as shown in FIG. 1, a transmitconfiguration register 103 (TXCONFIG) and a receive configurationregister 105 (RXCONFIG) may be present. Furthermore, one or moreadditional storages, such as lookup tables (LUT) or the like may be usedto store predetermined configuration information in a non-volatilefashion. Using such tables, the transceiver 102 can perform variousactivities using a minimal event code to access detailed configurationinformation stored in the table. Thus as shown in FIG. 1, aconfiguration lookup table 107 is present. While shown in the embodimentof FIG. 1 as including a single such table, in other embodimentsadditional tables may be used. As will be described further below, suchtables may be used to store ramp pattern information, transmit sequencesand the like.

Referring now to FIG. 2, shown is a flow diagram of a method inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 2, method 200 may be used for transmitting digital controlinformation between a baseband processor and a transceiver and thencontrolling the transceiver according to the control information. Asshown in FIG. 2, digital control information may be received at atransceiver (block 210). For example, the digital control informationmay be sent via control interface 114 of baseband processor 104 tocontrol interface 110 of transceiver 102. In various embodiments, thiscontrol information may include configuration information, eventinformation, schedule information and the like. Furthermore,transmission of the digital control information may desirably avoidinterference with transceiver (e.g., receive and transmit) operations.

Next the control information may be stored in one or more storageswithin the transceiver (block 220). More specifically, different controlinformation may be stored in different registers, buffers or otherstorages associated with the given type of control information. Forexample, configuration information may be stored in one or moreconfiguration registers and event information may be stored in one ormore event registers. Similarly, schedule codes may be stored in theevent registers or may separately be stored in dedicated scheduleregisters. Still further, in some embodiments particular controlinformation may be stored in registers or other storages dedicatedthereto. For example, ramp control information may be stored in a rampbuffer. Similarly, transmit control information (e.g., transmitpatterns) may be stored in associated pattern buffers.

Still referring to FIG. 2, based on the configuration information thathas been stored, the transceiver may be set up accordingly (block 230).For example, the transceiver may be enabled for transmit operations on agiven frequency and various components of the transceiver may beinitialized according to configuration information. Similar informationmay be used to appropriately set up a transceiver for a receive session.

Next, configuration information may be used to reconfigure one or moreconfiguration parameters of the transceiver under control of eventinformation. Furthermore, the transmit and/or receive operations may beperformed using the transceiver based on event and schedule informationstored in the transceiver (block 240). The event information may beaccessed from the one or more storages in the transceiver according toschedule information also stored in the transceiver. Accordingly,transmit/receive operations may be performed. In some embodiments adigital strobe signal sent from digital interface 112 of basebandprocessor 104 to digital interface 108 of transceiver 102 may activatecertain actions in the transceiver according to event codes that arescheduled to occur upon receipt of such strobe signals. Other events oractions that are to occur in the transceiver may be initiated at certaintiming patterns (e.g., a number of clock signals) from a prior receivedstrobe signal. In such manner, transmission of control information isreduced as much as possible while maintaining desired flexibility andfunctionality of the wireless device.

In one example, the control data is communicated from the basebandprocessor 104 to the transceiver 102 using a 32-bit word or telegram.With respect to event information, a telegram can include a read bit, 6address bits, three 8-bit events, and a final bit representing whetheror not the telegram is the first event telegram. In turn, each 8-bitevent can include a 4-bit event code and a 4-bit schedule code. Theevent register 100 is configured to store these events and can be, forexample, a 25-bit wide register having 12 rows.

In one embodiment, configuration and event management for a transceivermay use three registers: RXCONFIG register 105, TXCONFIG register 103,and event register 100. Each of these registers may appear at a specificsingle address in a device's register map. However, this address mayserve as a port into a FIFO that stores the information to be usedduring a transceiver session under control of a strobe signal. In onesuch embodiment, the RXCONFIG and TXCONFIG registers 103 and 105 mayhave a FIFO depth of 4 items, corresponding to a maximum of fourpossible active slots in a multi-slot burst in a TDMA system. In thisembodiment the event register 100 may have a much larger FIFO depth(e.g., 42), which allows for flexible sequencing of numerous events in asingle multi-slot burst.

Logically, each register may be addressed through a 6-bit address, andmay be 25 bits wide. This maps onto a 32-bit telegram size with 1 readbit, 6 address bits, and 25 data bits. When the number of assigned databits in any register is fewer than 25, the assigned bits may be alignedwith the least significant data bits in the 32-bit telegram in someembodiments.

In all three FIFOs, pointer initialization can be accomplished throughthe use of the most-significant data bit, designated FIRSTIN. If FIRSTINis asserted during a register write, this indicates that thecorresponding FIFO read pointer is to be set to the FIFO entry beingpresently written.

Referring now to the RXCONFIG register 105, each write to it may placeup to two 12-bit configuration items, RXCFGN+1 and RXCFGN, in the FIFOas described below in Table 1, which shows an example of RXCONFIGregister contents.

TABLE 1 DATA BITS: 24 23:12 11:0 CONTENTS: FIRSTIN RXCFG_(N+1)[11:0]RXCFG_(N)[11:0]

During a receive burst, the RXCFG items are applied in order ofincreasing index, relative to the write in which FIRSTIN=1. For example,if there have been two writes to the RXCONFIG register 105, withFIRSTIN=1 in the first write, and FIRSTIN=0 in the second, then theRXCFG items may be applied in the following order: N from the firstwrite, N+1 from the first write, N from the second write, and N+1 fromthe second write.

Bit definitions for the items to be stored in the RXCONFIG register 105in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention are asdescribed below in Table 2.

TABLE 2 RXCFG BITS MNEMONIC and DESCRIPTION 11 reserved 10 FILTSEL -Select one of two RX filters.  9 LNAG - LNA gain low (0) or high (1).8:6 AGAIN[2:0] - Analog gain; 4 settings in +4 dB increments from code 05:0 DGAIN[5:0] - Digital gain; 64 settings in +1 dB increments from code0

With reference now to the TXCONFIG register 103, each write may place upto two 12-bit configuration items, TXCFGN+1 and TXCFGN, as describedbelow in Table 3, which shows an example of TXCONFIG register contents.

TABLE 3 DATA BITS: 24 23:12 11:0 CONTENTS: FIRSTIN TXCFG_(N+1)[11:0]TXCFG_(N)[11:0]

During a transmit burst, the items stored in the TXCONFIG register 103are applied in order of increasing index, relative to the write in whichFIRSTIN=1. For example, if there have been two writes to the TXCONFIGregister, with FIRSTIN=1 in the first write, and FIRSTIN=0 in thesecond, the TXCFG items may be applied in the following order: N fromthe first write, N+1 from the first write, N from the second write, andN+1 from the second write.

Bit definitions for the items stored in the TXCONFIG register 103 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention are as describedbelow in Table 4.

TABLE 4 TXCFG BITS MNEMONIC and DESCRIPTION 11:8  VBIAS[3:0] - PA biasvalue 7 TXMODE - GMSK (0) or 8PSK (1). 6:0 DVGA[6:0] - Digital gaincontrol in 0.5 dB steps (8PSK modes).

With regard to the VBIAS [3:0] bits, if a transceiver has beenconfigured for analog power amplifier (PA) bias, this value may beapplied directly to the VBIAS digital-to-analog converter (DAC). If thetransceiver has been configured for logical (binary) PA bias, any valueless than or equal to 4′b0111 is interpreted as a logic 0 (low bias),and any value greater than this is interpreted as logic 1 (high bias).

Referring now to the event register 100, each write thereto may placethree 4-bit event codes EC_(N+2), EC_(N+1), and EC_(N), along with theircorresponding 4-bit scheduling codes SC_(N+2), SC_(N+1), and SC_(N), inthe FIFO as described below in Table 5, which shows an example of eventregister contents.

TABLE 5 DATA BITS: 24 23:20, 19:16 15:12, 11:8 7:4, 3:0 CONTENTS:FIRSTIN EC_(N+2)[3:0], EC_(N+1)[3:0], EC_(N)[3:0], SC_(N+2)[3:0]SC_(N+1)[3:0] SC_(N)[3:0]

During a burst, event and schedule codes may be applied in order ofincreasing index, relative to the write in which FIRSTIN=1. For example,if there have been three writes to the event register 100, withFIRSTIN=1 in the first write and FIRSTIN=0 in the subsequent writes, theevent codes may be applied in the following order: N from the firstwrite, N+1 from the first write, N+2 from the first write, N from thesecond write, N+1 from the second write, N+2 from the second write, Nfrom the third write, N+1 from the third write, N+2 from the thirdwrite.

Meanings of event codes in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention are described below in Table 6.

TABLE 6 EVENT CODE EVENT MNEMONIC and DESCRIPTION 4′b0000 NUL - Nullevent (no action; used as placeholder or to extend scheduling) 4′b0001PDN- Power down transceiver 4′b0010 PUP - Power up transceiver and resetTX symbol FIFO 4′b0011 NXT - Advance configuration FIFO (RX or TX) tonext configuration 4′b0100 RPE - Ramp enable 4′b0101 RPD - Ramp disable4′b0110 PAD - PA disable 4′b0111 PAE - PA enable 4′b1000 SW0 - Antennaswitch control state 0 4′b1001 SW1 - Antenna switch control state 14′b1010 SW2 - Antenna switch control state 2 4′b1011 SW3 - Antennaswitch control state 3 4′b1100 SW4 - Antenna switch control state 44′b1101 MDD - TX modulator disable (stop consuming TX symbols) 4′b1110MDE - TX modulator enable (start consuming TX symbols) 4′b1111 reserved

Meanings of the schedule codes in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention are described below in Table 7.

TABLE 7 SCHEDULE CODE SCHEDULE MNEMONIC and DESCRIPTION 4′b0000 +0 -Activate this event simultaneously with the preceding event. 4′b0001+1 - Activate this event 1 quarter- bit after the preceding event.4′b0010 +2 - Activate this event 2 quarter- bits after the precedingevent. 4′b0011 +3 - Activate this event 3 quarter- bits after thepreceding event. 4′b0100 +4 - Activate this event 4 quarter- bits afterthe preceding event. 4′b0101 +5 - Activate this event 5 quarter- bitsafter the preceding event. 4′b0110 +6 - Activate this event 6 quarter-bits after the preceding event. 4′b0111 +7 - Activate this event 7quarter- bits after the preceding event. 4′b1000 +8 - Activate thisevent 8 quarter- bits after the preceding event. 4′b1001 +9 - Activatethis event 9 quarter- bits after the preceding event. 4′b1010 +10 -Activate this event 10 quarter- bits after the preceding event. 4′b1011+11 - Activate this event 11 quarter- bits after the preceding event.4′b1100 +12 - Activate this event 12 quarter- bits after the precedingevent. 4′b1101 +13 - Activate this event 13 quarter- bits after thepreceding event. 4′b1110 +14 - Activate this event 14 quarter- bitsafter the preceding event. 4′b1111 # - Wait for a new real time eventSTROBE to activate this event

In some embodiments, a predetermined number of events can be scheduledfor simultaneous activation. In order to allow the hardware sufficienttime to process simultaneously scheduled events, an event scheduled fora new real-time strobe signal (e.g., SC=4′b1111) may be activatedexactly one quarter bit later than the assertion of the real-time eventSTROBE signal.

In some embodiments, additional configuration registers, such as antennaswitch configuration registers (e.g., SWRX and SWTX registers) may bepresent. Such registers may store switch events. For example, SW0-SW4events may be read to determine the state of the antenna switch controlpins SW[3:0] according to two configuration registers, SWRX and SWTX,within the configuration registers. The registers may be written duringa transceiver's initialization, and may retain their values as long as asupply voltage is applied. The SWRX configuration register may controlthe mapping of SWx events to pin state during receive mode, and the SWTXconfiguration register may control the mapping of SWx events to pinstate during transmit mode. When the transceiver is not active, theantenna switch control pins may all be held low. The contents of theSWRX and SWTX registers may be used directly to determine the SW[3:0]pin state associated with each SWx event as shown in Table 8, which isan example embodiment of SWRX and SWTX register contents.

TABLE 8 DATA BITS: 19:16 15:12 11:8 7:4 3:0 CONTENTS: SW[3:0] forSW[3:0] for SW[3:0] for SW[3:0] for SW[3:0] for event SW4 event SW3event SW2 event SW1 event SW0

A ramp register, which may be a separate table storage, may includeregisters to hold a number of ramp profiles. Each profile may be definedby 19 samples at twice the symbol rate, in one embodiment. Two samplesmay be packed into each 32-bit telegram write, although only 20 totalbits are stored for the write, 10 per sample. To update a sample, all 10bits of the sample may be written in the same cycle. Each write of theramp register may place two 10-bit samples, RAMP_(N) and RAMP_(N+1),into the FIFO as described in Table 9, which is an example embodiment oframp register contents.

TABLE 9 DATA BITS: 24 23:20 19:10 9:0 CONTENTS: FIRSTIN reservedRAMP_(N+1)[9:0] RAMP_(N)[9:0]

During the ramping part of a transmit burst, the ramp items are appliedin order of increasing index relative to the write in which FIRSTIN=1.For example, if there have been two writes to the RAMP register, withFIRSTIN=1 in the first write, and FIRSTIN=0 in the second, the RAMPitems may be applied in the following order: N from the first write, N+1from the first write, N from the second write, and N+1 from the secondwrite.

At the first ramp enable (RPE) event, the system starts consuming rampFIFO data at the rate of 1 sample every 2 quarter bits, continuing untilthe next ramp disable (RPD) event. At the next RPE event, if no writeshave been made to the ramp register, then the next sample in the FIFO isapplied to the ramp output. If there have been writes to the rampregister where the FIRSTIN bit was set to 1, then the next sample willstart from the newly flagged value.

Referring now to FIG. 3, shown is an example multi-slot receive timingdiagram in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Thetiming diagram of FIG. 3 shows various activities and communicationsoccurring in a wireless device during preparation for and receipt ofburst data. Timing diagram 300 begins at a first programming eventoccurring at a time instant TI0. Specifically, a plurality of serialcontrol telegrams are sent from a baseband processor to a transceiveracross a serial interface. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, six suchserial control telegrams are sent, beginning with a first controltelegram T1 and continuing successively through the sixth controltelegram T6. Shown in Table 10 is example control information sent inthe six telegrams T1-T6.

TABLE 10 Serial Control Telegrams T1 - ARFCN T2 - RXCONFIG T3 - EVENTS1-3: PUP#, SWx + 0, NXT# T4 - RXCONFIG T5 - EVENTS 4-6: NXT#, NXT#, PDN#T6 - AFC

When the first serial control telegram is sent over the serialinterface, an antenna of the wireless devices is in a pre-burst mode,and accordingly the transceiver is in a standby state. In the embodimentof FIG. 3, the standby state continues for twelve Qbits, at which time(TI1) a synthesizer of the transceiver begins settling. This settlingtime is initiated by a first strobe signal sent at TI1, whichcorresponds to the schedule code for this first event according tocontrol information sent in the third control telegram, specifically,the power up (PUP) instruction for the transceiver.

After the synthesizer settles, the transceiver enters a receive state attime TI2 in which it is prepared to receive data received on theantenna. Similarly at this same time, the transceiver transmits preburstinformation over the data interface between baseband processor andtransceiver (e.g., DigRF IF). At a next time instant (TI3), a firstburst of a multi-slot communication is received at the antenna, whilethe transceiver remains in the receive state. At a next time instantTI4, the first portion of the first burst data, processed by thetransceiver, is sent across the data interface to the basebandprocessor.

As further shown in FIG. 3, at various later time instances, a strobesignal is sent from the baseband processor to the transceiver. Invarious embodiments, these strobe signals may desirably be sent duringperiods of inactivity in the RF circuitry to avoid interference. Each ofthese strobe signals may initiate one or more events in the transceiveraccording to control information sent in the control telegrams. Forexample, in the embodiment of FIG. 3 at the second strobe (at TI5), thetransceiver is enabled to receive and process a next burst of thecommunication (i.e., a second burst) according to the next (NXT)instruction sent in telegram T3. Similar activities occur upon receiptof the third and fourth strobe signals. Finally, upon receipt of thefifth strobe signal at TI8 the transceiver is instructed to power downaccording to the power down (PDN) event sent in the T5 control telegram.

While shown with this particular implementation in the embodiment ofFIG. 3, it is to be understood the scope of the present invention is notso limited, and different control telegrams may be sent includingdifferent events and other information at different times with respectto a receive session.

Referring now to FIG. 4, shown is an example multi-slot transmit timingdiagram in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 4, timing diagram 400 shows an example transmission ofserial control telegrams between a baseband processor and a transceiver,along with digital data transfer and transceiver operations inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Referring toFIG. 4, timing diagram 400 begins with the transmission of a firstserial control telegram T1 at time instant TI0 (which may correspond toa first programming event for the transceiver) from a baseband processorto a transceiver on a serial interface. As shown in FIG. 4, a pluralityof serial control telegrams are sent consecutively along the serialinterface. While FIG. 4 shows the transmission of 18 such controltelegrams, T1-T18, more or fewer such telegrams may occur in differentembodiments. Shown below in Table 11 is example control information sentin the 18 telegrams T1-T18.

TABLE 11 Serial Control Telegrams T1 - AFC T2 - ARFCN T3 - TXCONFIG T4 -TXCONFIG T5 - EVENTS 1-3: PUP#, SWx#, PAE + 1 T6 - EVENTS 4-6: RPE + 5,MDE#, RPD + 12 T7 - EVENTS 7-9: MDD#, RPE + 12, PAD# T8 - EVENTS 10-12:SW + 1, NXT + 0, SWx + 1 T9 - EVENTS 13-15: PAE + 1, MDE#, RPD + 12T10 - EVENTS 16-18: MDD#, RPE + 12, PAD# T11 - EVENTS 19-21: SW + 1,NXT + 0, SWx + 1 T12 - EVENTS 22-24: PAE + 1, MDE#, RPD + 12 T13 -EVENTS 25-27: MDD#, RPE + 12, PAD# T14 - EVENTS 28-30: SW + 1, NXT + 0,SWx + 1 T15 - EVENTS 31-33: PAE + 1, MDE#, RPD + 12 T16 - EVENTS 34-36:MDD#, RPE + 12, RPD# T17 - EVENTS 37-39: PAD + 1, SWx + 1, PDN + 0 T18 -EVENTS 40-42: NUL + 0, NUL + 0, NUL + 0

Still referring to FIG. 4, at time TI1, upon receipt of a first strobesignal sent by the baseband processor to the transceiver, thetransceiver transitions from a standby state to a settling state, wherevarious transceiver resources, such as filters, synthesizers and thelike are settled according to the PUP event sent in telegram T5. At thesame time, beginning concurrently with the first serial controltelegram, digital ramp data may be sent from a baseband processor to thetransceiver. After transmission of such ramp data, speech datacorresponding to initial slots of a multi-slot communication (e.g.,slots 1 and 2) may next be sent over the digital interface. Thus asshown in the embodiment of FIG. 4, transmission of the serial controltelegrams occurs concurrently with the transmission of digital ramp dataand at least one initial slot of speech data. However in otherembodiments, serial control information may be sent prior to at leastsome of the digital data on the digital interface.

Upon receipt of a second strobe signal at time TI3, the transceivertransitions into a transmit state, initiated via a switch (SWx) eventand a power amplifier enable event (PAE), which occurs shortly after thesecond strobe signal. Next, as shown in FIG. 4 at a third strobe signalat TI4, the transmitter modulator is enabled according to the modulatorenable event (MDE). Thus as shown in FIG. 4, the power amplifier rampsup and begins transmitting signals according to the ramp data. Uponreceipt of a fourth strobe signal at time TI5, the modulator is disabled(i.e., according to the MDD event received in telegram T7). Additionalactions to transmit additional slots of the multi-slot communication maybe initiated according to additional strobe signals. As shown in FIG. 4,preferably these strobe signals are received in the transceiver duringperiods of RF inactivity (e.g., after receipt of a transmit modulatordisable event and before receipt of a next transmit modulator enableevent). As further shown in FIG. 4, additional data symbols may beprovided over the digital interface from the baseband processor to thetransceiver during a multi-slot communication. Preferably, as shown inFIG. 4, these data symbols are sent during periods of RF inactivity.

Thus the transceiver ramps up and transmits data according to a selectedmodulation scheme. For example, in some embodiments, a GMSK or an 8 PSKmodulation scheme may be used. In embodiments implementing 8 PSKmodulation, a transceiver may include or be coupled to linear poweramplifiers to provide for linear control of the modulation scheme. Useof such linear amplifiers may allow for reduced amounts of controlinformation to be sent from baseband processor to a transceiver forcontrolling the power amplifiers.

In yet other embodiments, a combination of such modulation schemes maybe implemented in which each slot may independently vary between GMSKmodulation and 8 PSK modulation. Note that between strobe signals, thetransceiver may be controlled using events provided in the serialcontrol telegrams that are scheduled at particular time periods (e.g.,at a given number of Qbits) from the previous strobe signal.Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4, the power amplifier is ramped up andramped down to transmit modulated data in four transmit slots (as shownin FIG. 4). The data transmitted is shown as being sent from thebaseband processor to the transceiver at various times prior to itstransmission from the antenna along the data interface path between thebaseband processor and the transceiver.

While shown with this particular implementation in the embodiment ofFIG. 4, it is to be understood the scope of the present invention is notso limited, and different control telegrams may be sent includingdifferent events and other information at different times with respectto a transmit session.

Referring now to FIG. 5, shown is block diagram of a transceiver inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Such atransceiver may be a CMOS transceiver for quad-band GSM/GPRS wirelesscommunications such as for use in cellular handsets and wireless datamodems, although the scope of the present invention is not so limited.

As shown in FIG. 5, a transceiver 232 may be incorporated into awireless system, such as the exemplary wireless system 230. Transceiver232 may include a receiver 234 and a transmitter 236. Receiver 234 maybe a heterodyne or a homodyne receiver may include a low intermediatefrequency (IF) architecture. In some embodiments of the invention,transmitter 236 may be a direct up or heterodyne transmitter. Forembodiments of the invention in which transmitter 236 is a heterodynetransmitter, the heterodyne transmitter may incorporate an offset phaselocked loop (PLL) architecture.

As depicted in FIG. 5, in some embodiments of the invention, asynthesizer 237 of transceiver 232 may provide a radio frequency (RF)lock oscillator signal to receiver 234; and furthermore, synthesizer 237may provide both an RF local oscillator signal and an IF localoscillator signal to transmitter 236. Depending on the particularembodiment of the invention, synthesizer 237 may incorporate an RF PLLor an IF PLL or a combination of both of these components. The mainfunction of synthesizer 237 is to provide local oscillator signals toreceiver 234 and transmitter 236. These local oscillator signals, inturn, may be generated by synthesizer 237 in response to a clockreference signal (not shown in FIG. 5).

As further shown in FIG. 5, a baseband interface 240 forms an interfaceto a baseband processor 258, in some embodiments of the invention.Baseband interface 240 may be a digital interface, an analog interfaceor a combination of a digital and an analog interface, depending on theparticular embodiment of the invention. For example, baseband interface240 may include a digital data interface and a digital controlinterface, such as that described above with regard to FIG. 1.

Also shown in FIG. 5 is a control storage 250 within transceiver 232.Control storage 250 may be coupled to receive and store variousconfiguration information, event information, schedule code information,and in some embodiments, may further include one or more tables to storeparticular configuration information that can then be accessed duringoperation via event information. As shown in FIG. 5, control storage 250is further coupled to provide information therefrom to receiver 234,synthesizer 237 and transmitter 236. Furthermore, while not shown forease of illustration in FIG. 5, configuration information from controlstorage 250 may further be coupled to power amplifiers 256 and RFfilters 254, an antenna switch 257 and an antenna 258, to control thesecomponents as desired.

While shown in FIG. 5 as including the particular components showntherein, it is to be understood that in other embodiments, transceiver232 may include additional and/or different components, and theembodiment shown in FIG. 5 is for illustrative purposes.

Referring now to FIG. 6, shown is a block diagram of a system inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 6, system 305 may be a cellular telephone handset, although thescope of the present invention is not so limited. For example, in otherembodiments, the system may be a pager, personal digital assistant (PDA)or other such device. As shown, an antenna 302 may be coupled to atransceiver 102, such as the transceiver shown in FIG. 5. In turn,transceiver 102 may be coupled to a digital signal processor (DSP) 310,which may handle processing of baseband communication signals. In turn,DSP 310 may be coupled to a microprocessor 320, such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU) that may be used to control operation of system305 and further handle processing of application programs, such aspersonal information management (PIM) programs, email programs,downloaded games, and the like. Microprocessor 320 and DSP 310 may alsobe coupled to a memory 330. Memory 330 may include different memorycomponents, such as a flash memory and a read only memory (ROM),although the scope of the present invention is not so limited.Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, a display 340 may be present to providedisplay of information associated with telephone calls and applicationprograms. Although the description makes reference to specificcomponents of system 305, it is contemplated that numerous modificationsand variations of the described and illustrated embodiments may bepossible. It is to be understood that transceiver 102 and DSP 310 mayconform to the transceiver and baseband processor depicted in FIG. 1, inone embodiment. Furthermore, transceiver 102 may include an article inthe form of a machine-readable storage medium (or may be coupled to suchan article, e.g., memory 330) onto which there are stored instructionsand data that form a software program. The software program may beimplemented by transceiver 102 to perform activities according toconfiguration information received from DSP 310.

While the present invention has been described with respect to a limitednumber of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerousmodifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appendedclaims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of this present invention.

1. A method comprising: receiving digital control information at a transceiver from a baseband processor along a serial signal line, the digital control information including configuration information to configure the transceiver, event information including event codes to identify actions to be taken by the transceiver and schedule information including schedule codes each to identify timing of a corresponding one of the actions to be taken by the transceiver; storing the digital control information in at least one storage of the transceiver; and operating the transceiver according to the event information and the schedule information, including configuring the transceiver using the configuration information, and performing transmit or receive operations on data, including powering up the transceiver and antenna switching using the event information at times according to schedule codes at a timing pattern relative to receipt of a strobe signal, including performing a modulator control operation in the transceiver according to a first event code at a time relative to a previous operation according to a first schedule code, the first schedule code corresponding to a period of time after the previous operation, and performing a ramp operation in the transceiver according to a second event code at a time according to a second schedule code, wherein the second schedule code corresponds to a predetermined number of clock signals of a system clock of the transceiver after the modulator control operation.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the event information and the schedule information in an event storage of the transceiver, the event storage including a plurality of entries each having an event code and a schedule code.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transceiver provides clock signals of the system clock to the baseband processor as a system clock master.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising accessing a first non-volatile table stored in the transceiver including detailed configuration information for the transceiver according to the first event code.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising ramping up a power amplifier coupled to an antenna according to ramp information stored in the first table.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving all digital control information for a burst session of the transceiver prior to radio frequency activity for the burst session in the transceiver.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving at least one strobe signal in the transceiver during a period of radio frequency inactivity in the transceiver.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a plurality of serial telegrams including the digital control information successively upon an initial programming event for the transceiver.
 9. A transceiver comprising: a digital control interface to communicate digital control information between a baseband processor and the transceiver; and an event storage coupled to the digital control interface to store the digital control information received from the baseband processor, the event storage including: a plurality of registers each to store an event having an event code to identify an action to be taken by the transceiver and a corresponding schedule code to identify a time at which the corresponding action is to be taken by the transceiver, wherein the time is relative to a preceding event, the transceiver to perform a modulator control operation according to a first event code at a time relative to a previous operation according to a first schedule code, the first schedule code corresponding to a period of time after the previous operation, and perform a ramp operation according to a second event code at a time according to a second schedule code, wherein the second schedule code corresponds to a predetermined number of clock signals of a system clock of the transceiver after the modulator control operation.
 10. The transceiver of claim 9, further comprising a digital data interface to communicate digital symbol information, digital sample information, and a strobe signal between the baseband processor and the transceiver.
 11. The transceiver of claim 9, wherein at least some of the corresponding schedule codes stored in the plurality of registers are related to a predetermined strobe signal.
 12. The transceiver of claim 9, further comprising at least one configuration register to store configuration information received via the digital control interface.
 13. The transceiver of claim 12, wherein the digital control interface is to route the configuration information to a selected one of the at least one configuration register according to address information of a telegram including the configuration information.
 14. The transceiver of claim 9, wherein the event storage is to route a received event code to a selected one of the plurality of registers according to address information sent in a telegram including the received event code.
 15. The transceiver of claim 9, further comprising at least one non-volatile table stored in the transceiver including a plurality of transmit patterns, wherein the at least one non-volatile table is accessible using an event code received in the digital control information.
 16. The transceiver of claim 9, wherein the transceiver includes instructions to perform an operation based upon an event code and a schedule code.
 17. A system comprising: a transceiver having a digital interface to communicate digital control information between a processor and the transceiver, a control storage coupled to the digital interface to store the digital control information received from the processor, the control storage including a plurality of registers each to store an event having an event code to identify an action to be taken by the transceiver and a corresponding schedule code to identify a time at which the corresponding action is to be taken by the transceiver, wherein the time is relative to a preceding event, wherein the transceiver is to perform a modulator control operation according to a first event code at a time relative to a previous operation according to a first schedule code, the first schedule code corresponding to a period of time after the previous operation, and perform a ramp operation according to a second event code at a time according to a second schedule code, wherein the second schedule code corresponds to a predetermined number of clock signals of a system clock of the transceiver after the modulator control operation; a power amplifier coupled to the transceiver; an antenna coupled to the power amplifier to transmit and receive information; and the processor coupled to the transceiver to provide the digital control information to the transceiver.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the transceiver further comprises a lookup table to store a plurality of transmission patterns, the lookup table to be addressed by an event code stored in one of the plurality of registers at a time according to the corresponding schedule code.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein the transceiver is to perform actions based on the digital control information at time instants according to the digital control information and strobe signals received from the processor.
 20. The system of claim 17, wherein the power amplifier comprises a linear power amplifier to be controlled by the digital control information. 